I have this plan.  It's a simple plan really.  I'm going to retire at 50.

I'm going buy an RV and tour the United States.  Maybe collect all those magnets shaped like the states.  I'm going to go scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef.  It's only about 40 miles away from my Winter cottage.  I am going to spend the first 5 years of my retirement watching movies for 8 hours a day in my private screening room.  That's the screening room that takes up the third floor of my house.

I'm not going to cook anything again.  Ever.  I'm going to have Mala, our live-in French au pair, prepare all of our meals.  I'm going to tour the LEGO factory without a group of people.  Just me and the tour guide.  I'm going to make sure that all of my donations to the children's hospital result in a wing being named after me.

But most important of all I will make sure that there is a trust fund for each of my children.  Not too much.  Just enough to help get by if they fall upon hard times.  And, course. a college fund.  (Which reverts to the state if they don't use it!)

Alright, you got me.  That's all actually the second part of my master plan.  The first part is winning the lottery.

No, really.  I am so close.  Why, just last week I got 1 number and the Mega number.  So close, yet so far.

You gotta wonder just what it must feel like to win the lottery.  How long do you wait to let anyone know?  How long does it take for all those "friends" to come out of the woodwork?  Is it better to take a lump sum payment?

All I know is I hope it happens soon.  The way it's looking I won't be able to retire until I've been dead for about 6 years.